NOVEMBER 27 - Today in Food History

On this day in:

1701 Anders Celsius was born (died April 25, 1744). Swedish astronomer, he developed the temperature scale which bears his name (Celsius).

1811 Andrew Meikle died (born May 5, 1719). A Scottish millwright, he invented the first successful drum threshing machine which separated the grain from the cobs, stalks or husks. He patented the machine April 9, 1789.

1826 John Walker invented the friction match (strike anywhere).

1889 The historic 90 room Hotel Jerome opened in Aspen, Colorado. Built by Jerome B. Wheeler, half owner of NYC's Macy's Department store. The first Colorado hotel with electricity and indoor plumbing, and the first west of the Mississippi with an elevator. [Hotel Jerome website]

1894 Mildred M. Lord of Milwaukee, Wisconsin received U.S. patent No. 529,869 for a "Washing Machine in which a suds box is used with a swinging agitator."

1901 Clement Studebaker was born (died Nov 27, 1901). Founder of a family firm that became the world's largest manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles, including ‘Conestoga Wagons’. After his death the Studebaker company became the only horse drawn vehicle manufacturer to successfully switch to producing automobiles.

1910 Pennsylvania Station, the largest railway station in the world, opened to traffic. The building was demolished in 1963.

1924 The first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was originally called a Christmas Parade.

1944 Musician Eddie Rabbitt was born.

1945 C.A.R.E. (Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere) was founded to send relieff packages to survivors of WWII in Europe.

1950 R. P. Robbins of Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, Canada, won 'Wheat King' title, with a sample of Durham wheat at the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.

1984Sylvan N. Goldman died. Goldman ran a successful chain of grocery stores, and while a major owner of the Piggly-Wiggly supermarket chain he invented the shopping cart. He hired fake shoppers to wheel them around the store to encourage his customers to see how useful they could be.